Chapter 2

I flinched at the sound and Jess and Mom backed away from me, "They are here to pick you up," mom whispered, and I frowned.

Mason came rushing into the living room when I was at the porch hugging Jess and mom one last time, he pushed through and gave me a bone-crushing hug, and I hugged him back as tight.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see all my pack members gathered around, and all the female teenagers stood in five different lines in front of five different limos.

My eyes widened when I pulled away, so many teenagers are leaving. With our fate crossed down on a checklist. Tears ran down my cheeks at the thought of being assigned to someone who had no care in the world for me, or disliked me.

"Bye Mom, Mason, Jess, I promise I will keep in touch," I yelled when my number came for me to get inside the limo, mom was sobbing on Mason's shoulder while Jess gave me a sad wave and a fake smile good bye.

I frowned and more tears escaped my eyes when I sat down in the limo. After a while, a man in a suit and tie with a name tag on his coat went and put a tape on my stuff which I was taking with me that sat in front of my house beside my family who stood staring at me, he asked Mason something, Mason replied back, and then the guy in the suit wrote down something on each tape which he plastered on my single suitcase. I believe its my name he wrote. Then he took the stuff and loaded it in a big truck filled with a lot of other people's stuff. Random people crowded in one small space. I was sitting by the window and when the car started, I waved my family good bye, but right at that moment, a long limo whipped past, and some people muttered, 'The Alphas,' 'Going in a different car.'

I hunched in my seat and cried silently, until a head in front of me turned around, and my eyes widened, "Natalie?"

Natalie is my best friend, we studied in school together, we were inseparable, but when the week came for getting ready for the ceremony, we haven't stayed in touch, because we spent most of our time with our family.

"Jacinta? Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked and then she hopped over her seat to squeeze into the spot next to mine, while I just stared blankly at her, and then I shook my head.

"Of course I'm not okay, I just left my family to live with someone who I barely know.

"I know, you think I'm not going through the same thing?" she asked and frowned.

I nodded my head, "I know you are," I mumbled and then stared blankly ahead.

"Need a hug?" She asked.

I smiled, and then we both engulfed each other in a tight embrace.

Natalie is the opposite of me, she has blond hair while I have light brown, she has sparkling and striking blue eyes, while I have light brown, she has a sun kissed looking skin, while I have an olive skin. She has a body which every guy dies for, while mine has come curves, but is normal.

I bet her mate will be head over heels for her, I smiled at the thought.

The whole limo was filled with silence, but when we arrived to the ceremony location, everyone gasped.

It was an hour before midnight by the time we reached the place, but when everyone got out of the limo, Natalie and my jaw dropped when we were struck by the beautiful golden lights which illuminated the night sky. A small path led inside the fenced area, the ceremony was outside and there were chairs which lined the grass.

Natalie interlocked her arm around mine tightly as we took a seat side by side, "its going to be okay," I whispered, and she sighed.

It took around fifteen minutes for the whole crowed to settle and become silent. The rows were divided into three because they were all in separate categories varying on the age of each person. The Alphas sat at the far back, the Betas sat in the middle and we normal werewolves sat at the front.

There was a big stage in the front and some guards stood at each corner. A guy in a suit and tie jumped on the stage using his werewolf skills, and then he went to the mike which rested on the middle of the stage. The host tapped the mike and said, "testing, 1, 2, 3.."

I held back a growl, here everyone is dying of anticipation and misery while this guy is trying to express humour.

"Okay, hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Albert, how are you this fine evening?" No one replied, so he continued, "You all know why you all are here today, it's a really big day because your life is going to change, you will be meeting your other half!"

People started murmuring under their breath and I could hear them say, 'which planet did he come from? There is no other half because there are no soulmates!'

That was true. I agree.

My wolf was growing restless and so was I, why can't this Albert guy just start the ceremony already so we all can get over our horrid nightmare.

"You all know the rules, when we announce you your mate, you are to come upon this stage to meet and accept each other, only the females are to move out and stay in the male's house, so, with that being said, I would like to start with the pack members first, then Betas, and then Alphas come last. Lets start, Selene Archer.." once a girl in a high ponytail name Selene was on the stage, Albert went on, "...Selene Archer's mate will be Jace Hasting," everyone clapped.

And that's how it kept going on, there was no order, just a list of random people paired up. The name draw had three sections, labeled Alpha, Beta, and Pack Members. We all had a choice of picking which section we want our mates from, like if I wanted an Alpha as my mate, I would put my name in there. However, I put my name in the pack member's category. The organization informed everyone that things may not go as how everyone wants it, because the names may not be evenly distributed, which will force them mix up the names. So there is no need of the three different categories they should say, because I am certainly against all this.

Its like having a name draw for which kind of husband you want, rich, poor, or in between, and then hoping for the best. Seriously? It depends on you who you fall in love with, because even if you prefer a rich person, someone poor or in between can change you. That person can change your choice. You cannot be assigned to a person and then be forced to like that person.

If there are no soul mates, then we should not be assigned mates. We should have the privilege to choose our own life partners.

"Jacinta," Natalie called out to me amongst the whispering of the crowd and the calling of mates by Albert.

"Yeah?" I asked without turning my head away from the stage.

"I heard that Nicole put her name in the 'name draw' box more than seven times for the Alphas," she whispered in my ear.

My eyes widened and two girls gasped who were sitting behind us, I rolled my eyes when I figured that they were eavesdropping.

"I know, I heard that she is aiming to get Alpha Gordon Archer as her mate," she whispered, completely unaware of the two girls behind us who were using their werewolf powers to listen to our conversation.

"Wow, " I muttered and found Nicole sitting near the edge, staring over at the Alphas.

I actually heard something about Gordon Archer, I think it was the fact that he has the most threatening pack in the state.

Shaking my head to get rid of the useless thoughts, I focused in on the name calling.

After a while, I heard a name which made me snap out of my day dream.

The man cleared his throat before he said, "Alpha Gordon Archer?"

My breath hitched as I watched a tall guy step out from the shadows and walk toward the stage, just his presence gave me the chills, he was in fact the leader of the "Dark Moon Pack."

Oh god. He looked stiff as a board, but so appealing at the same time. The muscular built and the tattoo on his arm made him look very intimidating, and the dark grey eyes illuminated the whole place when he took a stand beside the host.

Suddenly, memories of him started rushing in my head, clouding my brain.

I once heard that he had a dark past, which made him a cold hearted monster who no one wants to even be near. Frowning, I just stared straight ahead till I felt taps on my shoulder, and I flinched then looked up at a girl who said, "They are calling you!"

Raising an eye brow, I looked back at the stage, and to my utter horror, everyone's eyes were solely on me. Wait, no...

"Mate of Alpha Gordon is ...Jacinta Frost?" Those words were the last minute of my existence.